2002 Championship Game Recap
April 9, 2002 - United Indoor Football Association (UIF)
Ohio Valley Greyhounds News Release
Rockford, Ill. (March 6, 2002)â In their first season in the CBA the Dakota Wizards defeated the Rockford Lightning 116-109 in the one game CBA championship before a packed Rockford MetroCentre crowd of 7,201. Newcomer of the Year and regular season MVP Miles Simon picked up more hardware earning Playoff Most Valuable Player honors for his team high 19.5 points in four playoff games.
The Wizards and Lightning were tied at the end of the first (33-33) and second (59-59) quarters in a game that saw 21 ties and 21 lead changes. Simon led Dakota with 24 points and 9 assists, followed by Chris Porter (21 points) and Courtney James (15 points and 9 rebounds).
The Lightning were again led by forward Dickey Simpkins (32 points and 16 rebounds) who averaged team highs of 18.8 points and 10.8 rebounds during the playoffs. Versile Shaw and Ray Weathers each posted 18 points in the final game.
This was the first time Rockford had played for the CBA title since 1989, when they were swept in the Finals in four games by the Tulsa Fast Breakers. In their only other Finals appearance in 1987, they were defeated 4-1 by the Rapid City Thrillers. They defeated the Sioux Falls Skyforce in four games of a five game series to earn American Conference champion honors.
The Dakota Wizards, making their first CBA Finals appearance in their first CBA season, swept the Fargo-Moorhead Beez in three games to take the National Conference crown. The Wizards and Lightning split four games during the regular season, with each team winning twice on its home floor.
This marked just the second time in the last 11 seasons that the regular season champs in each conference met for the title. The last time it happened was in 1999, when the American Conference Champion Connecticut Pride defeated the National Conference Champion Sioux Falls Skyforce in the Finals in five games for the Pride's only CBA crown.
The live broadcast of the championship game is archived on www.sportsjuice.com. It can be accessed by logging on to www.sportsjuice.com/providers/gsteelheads and finding the "Listen to an archive game" drop down box. The CBA Championship game is the first selection in the menu. SportsJuice.com events require Windows Media Player, which can be downloaded free via the SportsJuice.com website.
The Playoff MVP award was voted on my media and NBA representatives in attendance Saturday night. Simpkins was the leading vote getter for the Lightning while Porter ranked second behind Simon with the Wizards.
2001-02 CBA TO NBA CALL-UPS
Date Player CBA Team NBA Team
12/18/01 Mike James Rockford Lightning Miami Heat
01/10/02 Jermaine Jackson Flint Fuze Toronto Raptors
01/14/02 Leon Smith Gary Steelheads Atlanta Hawks
01/22/02 Ira Newble Flint Fuze Atlanta Hawks
03/06/02 Leon Smith Gary Steelheads Atlanta Hawks
03/08/02 Randy Livingston Sioux Falls Skyforce Seattle SuperSonics
TOP FIVE COLLEGE CONFERENCES IN THE CBA
Highest amount of college alums within each NCAA conference among CBA players (Final Rosters):
1. Big 10 (9)
2. Big 12 (8)
3. Big East (6)
4. Southeastern (5)
5. Conference USA (4) THIS MONTH IN CBA HISTORY
On April 18, 1987 the Rapid City (S.D.) Thrillers defeated the Rockford Lightning 162-125 in the fourth game of a seven game series of which the Thrillers won in five. In that game the Thrillers set five CBA one game Finals records in points, points in one half (92), points in one quarter (51), field goals (62) and winning margin (37). They also set five-game finals records in points (648), field goals (251), field goal attempts (453) and field goal percentage (.554). Rapid City guard Clint Wheeler led the Thrillers to their CBA record third straight championship (First two as the Tamp Bay Thrillers) and Playoff MVP honors. He set an individual five game series record with 226 minutes played.
United Indoor Football Association Stories from April 9, 2002
- Simon Becomes CBA's Most Decorated - Ohio Valley Greyhounds
- 2002 Championship Game Recap - Ohio Valley Greyhounds
- 'Ants Gain First Win of the Season - Tupelo FireAnts
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